Love Doesn't Have to Hurt
by Bobo88
Summary: Susan discovers that her best friend Taylor Lautner is the victim of dating violence at the hands of his new girlfriend. In the process of a rewrite.
1. Chapter 1

Susan Campbell had just said goodbye to her best friend Taylor Lautner and his girlfriend Janet whom she had invited over for dinner that Friday evening.

"Janet seems nice," Barbara remarked as they all cleared the table.

"Yeah, she does," Susan responded somewhat dejectedly.

She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that there was 'another woman' so to speak in Taylor's life. They had known each other all their lives, even though she was a year older. They shared everything together; laughs, tears, happiness, tragedy. Most people who saw their interactions with one another might have mistaken them for siblings rather than just close friends. Still, Susan always had a secret burning crush on Taylor that she was too scared to tell him about for fear of destroying their friendship that had endured for so long. On the other hand, Janet was a nice girl and Taylor appeared to be happy, so, Susan reasoned, that was probably all that mattered. If he was happy, she was happy for him.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself over the weekend while Taylor's parents and us are away for the weekend?" Tom asked for the millionth time that week. "You know, it's supposed to snow like hell this weekend."

"Yes, Dad, I'll be fine," Susan grumbled. "Besides, Taylor and Janet are coming over, so I won't really be alone."

"Okay," he said calmly. "I'm sorry, but you know how I am."

Susan nodded and continued to cleaning up. When she was finished, she decided to go on the family computer to check her e-mail. She hadn't even logged on when a faint commotion outside caught her attention. She looked out the window to see if she could find the source. Much to her surprise, she saw Taylor and Janet still standing outside by Janet's white sports car. They seemed to be engaged in some type of quarrel. She could only hear bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"What'd I tell you about hugging and touching other girls?" Janet scolded at one point.

"She's my best friend," Taylor protested.

Susan figured out from that exchange that Janet was angry at Taylor for hugging her. It almost made her feel guilty, as if she inadvertently infringed upon their relationship. The guilt was forgotten however when she saw what happened next. Janet grabbed Taylor by his shirt collar and violently slapped his face. He tried to say something in his defense, but Susan couldn't hear what he said. Whatever it was, it provoked another slap in the face from Janet. At that point, Taylor clutched his face and hung his head as he got in the passenger side door. Janet got in the driver side and sped away into the night.

Susan had to sit down and collect her faculties. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. It appeared that Janet had been putting on an act at dinner that night. She didn't love Taylor at all. Susan knew she was going to have to confront this situation head-on when they came over tomorrow and convince Taylor that Janet was no good for him before he ended up seriously injured, or worse.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: I'll continue to write more chapters once I get more reviews._**

Susan awoke that next morning at 9am, earlier than she normally did on weekends. Her parents had already left for their trip. She hardly slept a wink the night before. The image of Janet striking Taylor played over and over again in her mind. How could she have not known? Were there _really_ no outward signs that Taylor was being mistreated? Or did Susan just choose not to notice them?

As she was getting dressed, she remembered some things that at the time seemed innocent, but now alarmed her. A month earlier, Taylor's arm was in a sling and he claimed that he had injured his shoulder playing baseball. A few weeks before that, he had an unusually large blister on his lip which he said was a cold sore. Before that, he claimed that his twisted wrist was the result of an accident at a karate demonstration. He always seemed to have a convenient excuse on the tip of his tongue for how he had sustained his injuries, sometimes even blaming them on his own 'clumsiness'. Janet, however, never seemed to have a scratch on her. Susan looked out the window and sure enough, just as the papers had predicted, it was snowing heavily. She was hoping that it would snow hard enough that Taylor wouldn't be able to get back home. That way, at least for that night, he'd be safe from Janet's abuse.

A few hours had passed and there was several inches of snow on the ground. Susan was becoming nervous that Taylor hadn't shown up yet or even called. Just as she was about to call him, there was a knock on the door. She was relieved when she opened the door and saw him standing there without Janet. As she expected, he was wearing sunglasses.

"Hi," Taylor said shyly as he entered and removed his snow-covered jacket and boots. Not surprisingly, he left his glasses on. "Janet couldn't come. So, I guess it's just you and me, kid."

He noticed that Susan seemed tense and upset.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm just a little upset, that's all," she sighed.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" he wanted to know as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Well, to begin with, you could take off the glasses," she said. Taylor stared blankly.

"I saw her hit you last night," she explained as she held his hand. "Please don't be ashamed. I'm your best friend."

Slowly, Taylor removed his shades to reveal a swollen left eye. It looked even worse than Susan had anticipated.

"Taylor," she gasped in disbelief.

He hung his head in shame and started crying. She gave him a hug as they sat down on the couch.

"How long has she been hurting you?" she asked.

"Since day one," he admitted.

"She did this right after you started dating?"

Taylor nodded.

"Well, it started out as just verbal abuse," he explained. "Then one day, she slapped me for talking to another girl at school. She's been hitting me ever since."

Susan was shocked. Not only was Janet abusing Taylor, she had started doing so as soon as they began dating! It killed her to think that he had carried this burden around for four months.

"I tried to leave twice," he continued, "The first time, she dislocated my shoulder and the second time, she punched me in the mouth. After that, I stopped trying to walk out on her just to keep a little bit of peace. You're the first person I've ever told about how she treats me."

"What about your parents?" Susan asked.

"They don't know and neither does my sister Makena," he said. "And Makena loves Janet,"

"Are you worried about Janet getting abusive with Makena?" she asked with growing concern.

"She'd never do that," Taylor assured her.

"Maybe she won't. But Makena looks up to Janet. What if she sees Janet beating you and thinks that's the way to treat her boyfriends when she gets older?"

"I've thought about that," Taylor sobbed. "But I'm too scared to leave. I'm not like one of those people who says they love the person who abuses them. I don't love Janet, but I'm afraid that if I break up with her, some other girl will take her place and hit me too."

Susan held Taylor in her arms as he cried hysterically.

"If I were your girlfriend, the only thing I'd put my hands on you for is to hug you," she said without thinking.

"I could never get a nice girl like you," Taylor said sadly. "The best I could ever do is Janet."

"Don't say that!" Susan cried out. "You're beautiful, inside and out, and any girl would be lucky to have. And if it's the last thing I ever do, I'll make sure that Janet never lays another hand on you."

"You'd do that for me?" he asked shyly, as if he no longer felt worthy of Susan's friendship.

"Of course," she responded as she hugged him. "We're in this together."

After a few seconds of silence, she uttered a gentle "I love you, Taylor."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Once I get at least three more reviews, I'll post the next chapter. Also, the part describing Taylor's wounds may be a bit graphic and disturbing, but is in no way intended to offend anyone.**_

"I love you, too," Taylor responded shyly between sobs.

In spite of the circumstances under which she had admitted her love for Taylor, Susan was happy that he had responded favorably. She was about to get up and get Taylor some ice for his black eye when she noticed that he seemed to be shivering. She touched his forehead.

"Taylor, you're very warm," she said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, remember when I said that Janet couldn't make it?" he asked. "That's not really how it happened."

"What are you talking about?" Susan inquired, knowing that what he said next wasn't going to be good.

"Janet came over to my house earlier," he explained. "She started yelling at me again about me hugging you last night. She beat me up again and threw me out in the cold with only my boots and coat. I walked all the way over here in the snow."

Susan grabbed Taylor and snuggled him in her arms once again as he continued crying hysterically. Although she had always longed to cuddle him in her arms and have his strong arms around her, she could feel her heart breaking. This wasn't the romantic embrace from Taylor for which she'd yearned all her life; Taylor was clinging to her as a friend because the girlfriend who was supposed to be holding him in that special way was only interested in beating him. Still, Susan couldn't help but squeeze his trembling body tightly to hers. As she did so, Taylor let out a small whimper.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she gently broke away from him.

"I have bruises all over me from when Janet attacked me this morning and they hurt a little," he admitted.

"Let me see," she said as she gently tried to lift his turtleneck sweater .

"No!" he screamed in terror as he began to hyperventilate a bit. "You have no right to touch my body like that, do you hear me?"

"What are you talking about?" Susan cried. "I'd never hurt you! I…Taylor, did Janet…"

"She tried to, okay?" Taylor relented.

"Please let me see your bruises," she pleaded. "What if they get infected or something?"

Taylor reluctantly took his sweater off and laid on the couch to catch his breath. The sight of his injuries horrified Susan so much that she actually jumped back. His well-sculpted abs were a dark purple in color. There was a huge circular bruise in the center of his chest, probably from Janet's knee or elbow. His arms had finger marks on them from being pinned down. His throat was bruised from what looked like a strangulation attempt. Susan also noticed what looked almost like hickeys all over his chest and nipples, but on closer examination, she saw teeth marks. Janet had bitten him!

Susan looked at all the wounds and was amazed that Taylor was able to wear such a heavy sweater. It must have been torture.

"She bit me too," he said sadly as tears began to stream from his gorgeous honey brown eyes down his cheeks.

"It's okay," Susan said as she dried his eyes with a Kleenex. "Don't be embarrassed. I love you."

"How could you love a nobody like me?" he asked dejectedly. "I don't even love myself."

Susan held Taylor's trembling hand and without giving it a second thought, she did something that neither one of them expected: she gently pulled his handsome, tear-stained face closer to her and planted a warm, passionate kiss on his quivering lips.


	4. Chapter 4

When their kiss ended, Susan and Taylor just stared at one another in dead silence. Neither of them had any idea what to do or say next.

"That…was nice," Taylor finally said with hesitation.

"Yeah," Susan sighed. "Um…let me go get you some ice for your eye."

She walked into the kitchen and filling a Ziploc bag with ice cubes. It took her a few moments to fully understand what just transpired. She, Susan Campbell, had just shared a passionate kiss with her best friend and long-time love interest, Taylor Daniel Lautner. Like the embrace they had shared earlier, it was dream come true with a certain sadness to it. As much as it killed Susan to think about it, Janet, although cruel and abusive to Taylor, _was_ his girlfriend, not her. And it was wrong of her to kiss him, regardless of how right it felt. She had to apologize.

"Listen, Taylor," she said as she placed the ice against his swollen face. "I'm sorry about…you know…what happened."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he explained. "I mean, we've known each other for years."

"Yeah, but you're with Janet." she reminded him. Taylor nodded sadly.

"I'm only with her out of fear," he said. "There's just no pleasing her. Sometimes, she hits me and I don't even know what I did wrong."

"Taylor, look at me," Susan said as she turned his head toward her so he was looking her directly in the eye. "Nothing, I mean nothing, you do wrong gives Janet the right to hit you and talk to you the way that she does."

"I understand that in my head," Taylor said as tears were once again beginning to form in his eyes. "But I still can't help but think that if only I was somehow better or…"

"NO!" Susan yelled emphatically. "Don't you understand? It's not your fault! You're a good person, Taylor! Janet's only using you for a punching bag!"

"I know!" he wailed. "I always had a crush on _you_, but you'll only ever see me as a friend."

After realizing that he had inadvertently professed his love for Susan, Taylor abruptly stopped crying and blushed bright red.

"Y-you have a crush…on…me?" Susan was stunned.

"Yeah," he replied in almost a whisper. "I always did,"

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" she asked.

"Look at me," he responded. "Why would a beautiful girl like me want an ugly, good-for-nothing guy like me?"

"You're not ugly at all!" she exclaimed. "You're beautiful, inside and out. I've always had a crush on you too."

Taylor looked at her in disbelief.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better," he sighed.

"If I was only trying to make you feel better, would I have kissed you the way I did?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"It did feel nice," Taylor agreed. "Janet never kisses me."

"She doesn't?"

"Nope. She doesn't hug me, or compliment me, or even tell me she loves me."

"Then leave her and be with me," Susan urged.

"But I'm scared," he said. "I told you what she did to me the last two times I tried to leave."

"If you want, I'll be with you when you break up with her," she offered. "Like I said, we're in this together."

"Thank you," Taylor said as he put his head on her shoulder and began to relax a little.

Just as they were about to fall asleep, Susan's front door flew open, startling them. It was Janet! Somehow, she had made her way through the snowstorm and found Taylor. And to make matters worse, Janet had a beer bottle in her hand and was staggering; she was drunk. Susan grabbed Taylor and held him in her arms as he trembled. They both knew Janet wasn't going to give Taylor up without one hell of a fight.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Warning: Violence and language.**_

"You!" Janet slurred angrily as she pointed at Taylor. "I knew you'd be here, you little prick!"

Taylor immediately grabbed onto Susan to protect her. This was _his_ fight, not hers and he would have felt terrible if she had come to any harm because of his problems with Janet.

"Get your ass up! I'm taking you the fuck home!" Janet commanded and she tried to pry Taylor away from Susan. Susan quickly got up and stood in front of Taylor to shield him from his girlfriend.

"He's not going anywhere with you!" Susan snapped back. "I know what you've been doing to him!"

"It's none of your damn business!" Janet slurred as she tried in vain to reach around Susan to get to her hands on her intended target.

"When you stand out in front of _my_ house, in _my_ driveway and slap _my_ best friend so hard that his eye swells up, then it is my business," she explained firmly.

"If he would do what I tell him…"

"STOP IT!" Taylor finally screamed with tears in his eyes. "Janet, it was my fault. I told Susan what happened. If you should be mad at anybody, be mad at me."

Susan couldn't believe her ears. After all Janet had done to him, Taylor was willing to take yet another beating just to protect just to spare her from his drunken girfriend's wrath. She just couldn't allow it.

"Taylor, don't do that!" she begged. "Don't you see? If you do that, you're just letting her control you!"

"I do control him!" Janet yelled as she pointed at Taylor. "This is mine and I'll treat it any way I want, you hear me?"

"He's not an 'it'!" Susan retorted. "His name is Taylor and he's a human being with feelings! And he doesn't have to do what you say!"

"Really?" Janet asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I'll show you how much control I have! Taylor, sit on the floor like the worthless dog that you are!"

Susan was praying that he would refuse. But sure enough, Taylor knelt down on the floor and hung his head in shame.

She quickly pulled him back up and turned picked his head up so that she was looking at him eye to eye.

"You are nobody's dog," she said firmly. At that moment, everything clicked in Taylor's head.

"I'm not your dog," he told Janet. "I can't do this anymore."

Without warning, Janet backhanded Taylor across the face, knocking him backwards. As he stumbled, his foot got caught on the leg of the nearby coffee table and twisted awkwardly, causing a severe ankle sprain. He landed with a dull thud on the floor in the narrow gap between the coffee table and sofa. Susan knelt down next to Taylor and cradled him in her arms as he wept hysterically.

"My ankle," he sobbed. "I think I twisted my ankle."

Susan lifted the cuff of Taylor's jeans and saw that his left ankle was already beginning to swell. She touched it gently, but even that made Taylor whimper with discomfort. She gave him a hug and kissed his bright red cheek with looked as if it had been painted a deep crimson.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!?" Susan cursed at Janet through tears of hurt and anger. "I've never said this to anyone before, but I hate you! I hate you and I'll never forgive you for what you've done to Taylor! Every time you hit him, it's like you're doing it to me!"

"Well, get ready to hate me even more," Janet said smugly. "Because I have some plans for Taylor this evening."

"What do you mean plans?" Taylor asked nervously.

"Well….


End file.
